Digital media is the wave of the future in the advertising industry, and a young Stamford company thinks it has developed a service that will make it an essential player in the marketplace.

MediaCrossing, a digital media trading firm that started operations in January, already has grown to 16 employees, and its founder has said he expects to double the staff by December of next year.

Founded by CEO William Lederer, formerly a senior executive with Kantar, WPP's media, marketing and data services division, and Chief Technology Officer Ted Yang, an ex-Wall Street senior technologist, the company has built a platform that links publishers, marketers and agencies, enabling bidded trading of digital media advertisements in real time.

"The digital media ecosystem is scaling more quickly than anyone imagined, creating both challenging new problems and opportunities," said Lederer, who is chairman and CEO. "As a trader, MediaCrossing delivers optimized results for its business partners while reducing inefficiency, increasing transparency and improving ad inventory sell-through."

Through the trading desk, the marketer or its media agency can obtain audience-based, bid-based, and guaranteed ad inventory.

MediaCrossing's launch was supported by $6 million in financing from four family offices, Connecticut Innovations and Rialto Bridge Partners. It has already secured 18 clients.

"A sophisticated client or advertising agency would use a company like this," said Brian Brady, director of the Stamford Learning Accelerator at the University of Connecticut School of Business, noting myriad electronic devices now utilized by advertisers to get their message across. "You have to plan and execute, and you have to measure and analyze."

The company bridges the market for display, video, social and mobile tradeable ad inventory, Lederer said, adding that a challenge of the startup was to combine big personalities from the worlds of Wall Street and Madison Avenue.

"They all made a ton of money, and I convinced them to take a lot less," said Lederer, a Norwalk resident who had leadership roles at TNS, Getty Images, Art.com (founder) and Minotaur (founder).

To provide added incentive, Lederer said employees are given equity in the business after a probationary period.

CTO Yang, who was a former managing partner of the Stamford Innovation Center, has held technology leadership roles at investment firms including Tudor, Bridgewater, Citadel and Salomon Smith Barney. He founded startup companies including ChemPacific, Connex International and Epiomed Therapeutics.

The company also counts Jerry Putnam, the former vice chairman, president and co-chief operating officer of NYSE Group, as an investor and board member.

Connecticut Innovations liked the resumes of MediaCrossing's management team and its investors, said Peter Longo, CI's executive vice president and chief investment officer.

"We were more impressed with the product opportunity we saw," he said. "The whole advertising technology world is evolving."